At the height of the Jazz Age, when Prohibition was turning ordinary
citizens into criminals and ordinary criminals into celebrities,
America’s true crime detective magazines were born. True Detective came
first in 1924, and by 1934, when the Great Depression had produced
colorful outlaws like Machine Gun Kelly, Bonnie and Clyde, Baby Face
Nelson, and John Dillinger, the magazines were so popular cops and
robbers alike vied to see themselves on the pages. Even FBI boss J.
Edgar Hoover wrote regularly for what came to be called the "Dickbooks,"
referring to a popular slang term for the police.

As the
decades rolled on, the magazines went through a curious metamorphosis,
however.When liquor was once more legal, the Depression over and all the
flashy criminals dead or imprisoned, the "detectives" turned to sin to
make sales. Sexy bad girls in tight sweaters, slit skirts and stiletto
heels adorned every cover. Coverlines shouted "I Was a Girl Burglar—For
Kicks,"Sex Habits of Women Killers," "Bride of Sin!," "She Played Me for
a Sucker," and most succinctly,"Bad Woman."

True Crime
Detective Magazines follows the evolution and devolution of this
distinctly American genre from 1924 to 1969. Hundreds of covers and
interior images from dozens of magazine titles tell the story, not just
of the "detectives," but also of America’s attitudes towards sex, sin,
crime and punishment over five decades. With texts by magazine collector
Eric Godtland, George Hagenaur and True Detective editor Marc Gerald, True Crime Detective Magazines is an informative and entertaining look at one of the strangest publishing niches of all time.